I took an early morning flight with Virgin America out of LAX to San Jose. I love flying into the San Jose airport. You can take the free VTA#10 bus over to the Metro Station and catch the light rail into downtown. The fare for single ride is only $2. I got off at the Convention Center and went straight to the expo. As per the usual, they were offering next year's race at $15 off. I passed on this good deal since I was planning on running more out of State marathons next year so that I can make some progress on completing a marathon in each of the 50 States. After going through the expo I headed over to my hotel.
Expo deal
I stayed at the Four Points Sheraton in Downtown on South 1st Street which was close to the expo as well as both the starting and finish lines. I liked that they were giving out complimentary bottles of water at the check-in and for the duration of the stay.
As part of check-in process, they gave me a card good for one free beer. But during my short stay I never saw the bar open for me to get this free beer. Oh well. I think they were only open when I was trying to sleep. I only checked during lunch hours.
Free beer
Expo haul
For lunch, I attempted to check out Orenchi Ramen over in Santa Clara. I walked up to East Santa Clara St to catch the #22 bus. I took the Rapid #522 bus which runs the same route but with fewer stops. But during the weekend there were no buses that stopped near the restaurant. So I got off at the El Camino & Bowers stop and walked many blocks down Kiely Blvd and turned on Homestead Rd. I finally got to the restaurant after many more blocks. I was sweating up a storm. They opened at 11:30am and closed at 1:30pm. I didn't get there until 12 something. There was already a humongous line at the restaurant. They had a sign that said that they'll close as soon as the broth runs out. I went inside and looked at the sign-in sheet and it was many pages long. It was a total fail. So it was time for plan B and to head back to find some other place to eat near my hotel. I hoofed it over to the Stevens Creek & Casa View bus stop and caught the #23 bus. That was quite an adventure for $2 bus ride each way.
I got off the bus at the San Carlos & Guadalupe River stop and I walked over to Konjoe Burger Bar to get a late lunch. If I can't have a decent bowl of ramen, a good burger or two will have to do! Since it was a short trip and I wanted to try more than one burger, I got both their signature Konjoe Burger and the Pork Belly Burger. Their beef is grass fed and range free. Both included an order of potato wedges. I took them back to my room and could not wait to eat them! Since it was way past my usual lunch hour, the meal had to be considered my early dinner as well. Both of them were very good. I would definitely eat here again!
Konjoe Burger counter
Menu board
Konjoe Burger
Pork Belly Burger
After eating, I got my race gear ready and relaxed while watching TV.
Race gear
My friend who lived nearby was so nice to pick up some Powerade for me and insisted that I go out to eat some yogurt at Yogurtland. She even picked me up and also treated. It was only a few blocks away and I was willing to walk over there. I think it's only the second time that I've ever stepped foot inside a Yogurtland.
Yogurtland with a good friend
Sunday
My hotel was located right next to the finish line and just a few blocks from the starting line, so it was an extremely convenient central location.
Starting corral
The race started at the corner of N Almaden Avenue and W Santa Clara Street with us heading East. I kept the first three miles at a pretty even pace. I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep that pace, but wanted to test out the legs a little bit. My right foot would eventually start to give me problems as it still gets a bit achy. I held it together for about the first 10k and then per usual, I slowed it down and basically trotted it in. This course was fast and a great course if you have friends running in the race since there were several out and back portions. I love being able to see those ahead of you as well those that are behind you. I would definitely recommend this race as the race to set a new half marathon PR.
1: 7:45
2: 7:51
3: 7:51
4-5: 17:20 (8:40)
6: 8:20
7: 8:43
8: 9:30
9: 9:30
10: 9:38
11: 10:10
12: 9:53
13: 9:20
13.1: 0:48
Finish: 1:56:41
5k: 24:23
10k: 50:49
10mile: 1:26:31
What a boring lookin' medal!
I ran my 10th Rock n' Roll race for the year at Montréal, so I wasn't sure why they notified me via email as well as attached a note to my bib telling me to pick up my Rock Idol medal after the race. Originally they had emailed saying that they could not hand out that heavy medal at Montréal, so they would mail it to me. Oh well, I guess they changed their mind. Since I had not received it yet in the mail, I stopped by the tent after the race and picked it up. It was a sweet hefty medal and the second time that I've earned the medal.
This was one of those in and out races where I planned not to take any days off of work. So there was no time to relax that much after the race. I got cleaned up, packed up, and checked out of the hotel. However I did book an evening flight home, so I walked a few blocks over to the nearby Camera 12 Cinemas to watch the much hyped Gravity in 3D. Two words, over hyped. It was about two hours worth of Sandra Bullock panicking and hyperventilating. She's one of my favorite actresses and the special effects were nice, but it did not live up to the hype. I am not impressed with 3D especially when it's just objects appearing to come close to hitting your face over and over and over and over again.
I then walked over to Smoke Eaters to eat some wings and watch some of the Broncos v. Cowboys game. I ordered their Fiery Garlic Wings. They were nice and hot! I love their meaty wings!
Fiery Garlic Wings
I caught the light rail and headed for the airport. Got off at the Metro/Airport stop and took the #10 bus to the airport. After getting through TSA, I had a couple of Sam Adams beer at the Shark's Cage. Cheers... until we meet again!
Shark's Cage
Beer#1 and medals
Beer#2
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